How To Get Rid Of Separation Anxiety In Dogs

September 13, 2022

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Treatment For Moderate To Severe Separation Anxiety

Moderate to severe separation anxiety will require a more intricate counterconditioning treatment process. For such severe cases, its essential to slowly acquaint your dog to staying alone by beginning with several brief separations that do not result in any form of anxiety.

Then as time goes by, you can gradually increase the duration of the separations.

Counterconditioning and desensitization are complicated treatments and can be tricky to work through. You should completely avoid fear, or the process will not work and may cause your dog to be even more frightened.

The treatment will change depending on your dogs reactions and because these reactions may be complex to observe and interpret. You will require the help of a trained expert to guide you through the counterconditioning and desensitization treatment plan.

To get help with this, contact a board-certified veterinary behaviorist or a Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist . If you cannot find any of these two, you can look for a Certified Professional Dog Trainer .

However, make sure that the trainer has the necessary qualifications to help you. He or she must have the education and experience in treating anxiety and fear using counterconditioning and desensitization.

The following steps briefly explain a counterconditioning and desensitization program:

Treating Minor Cases Of Separation Anxiety

1Rule out other causes. Notice when symptoms take place. If they occur when you’re coming or going, separation anxiety could be the cause. But if your dog exhibits problem behaviors when you’re just sitting put, it’s most likely something else.

If your dog uses the bathroom where it’s not supposed to while you’re home the cause probably isn’t separation anxiety.

Consider visiting a vet to rule out incontinence or digestion issues, or visit a trainer for help completing potty training.XTrustworthy SourceAmerican Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to AnimalsLeading organization dedicated to the prevention of animal crueltyGo to source

Similarly, excessive barking or howling could be signs of incomplete training, especially if you didn’t have a hand in training your dog when it was a puppy.

Most dogs go through a period of excessive chewing as juveniles. Do your best to make it understand which toys are for chewing and which items belong to you.XTrustworthy SourceAmerican Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to AnimalsLeading organization dedicated to the prevention of animal crueltyGo to source

Make sure you don’t leave shoes, clothes, or other tempting objects out during your dog’s juvenile period, from a few months before its first birthday to a few months after.

Dont make your exit with lots of fanfare or with a big gestures.

Try to avoid giving recognizable cues, like grabbing your keys loudly, that signal youre leaving.

Dont Make A Show Of Leaving Or Returning

This can be tough because you always want your dog to feel loved and missed, and you may love to enthusiastically greet your dog when you get home. But from your dogs point of view, making every hello and goodbye a big deal makes it that much harder for your pet to see you come and go. This doesnt mean you should ignore your dog. Instead, try to be calm during these moments you can bring back the petting and excitement after 10 minutes, once your dog knows you’re home.

Even if your dog continues to show too much excitement when you walk in, commit to walking in and out in a calm manner. Keep it casual, paying them little attention for a bit before you leave. Do the same when you return, and then give them a calm greeting after a few minutes. You can also perform departure cues, such as jiggling your keys, without actually leaving to show your dog the anxiety-triggering noise or behavior is not always associated with you leaving.

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Keep Your Arrivals And Departures Low

Your dog takes emotional cues from you its part of that special human-animal bond. If youre anxious about leaving them alone, theyll notice and start to become anxious as well.

Avoid fawning over your dog before you leave. This does NOT mean you cant say goodbye. Just do so in a calm manner that indicates to your dog that your leaving is nothing to worry about. Some dog owners like telling their dogs the same thing every time they leave, such as Ill be back or Be good, see you later!
Stay calm when you arrive back home. Of course your dog will be happy to see you, and its heartwarming to have a pup with a wagging tail greet you when you get home. But if youre wanting to prevent separation anxiety, you dont want your dog to become overexcited about your return.
Teach your dog a polite welcome home routine. Not only does this keep greetings calm, it also helps with behaviors such as jumping on people and door dashing. Have your dog sit and stay for any attention, train them to go to bed, or have them perform a few tricks.

Socialization And Proactive Exposure Training

A dog who has been positively exposed to different experiences at a young age is less likely to suffer from separation anxiety. One study found that a lack of socialization before a dog turned 10-months old was a common factor in whether they later suffered from separation anxiety. Proactive exposure training helps build a dogs confidence and teaches them appropriate coping skills.

Proactive exposure training is giving your dog a chance to learn how to live and thrive in a totally different species world. We expect a lot from our dogs, and sometimes we forget that they arent human its our job to show them the ropes. Try using this handy checklist to keep track of your dogs progress: 100 things in 100 days.

The best time to socialize your dog is when they are between the ages of 7 to 16 weeks, during whats called an imprint period. Their brains are like sponges during this time, and their experiences will shape their future behavior. Make sure to create as many positive associations for them during this time, especially the experience of being alone . If you didnt have your dog throughout their imprint period, you can still work on their socialization and help them navigate the human world, it just might take them a bit longer to adjust to new things.

A certified dog trainer or behavior consultant can work with you to create an appropriate socialization program that matches you and your dogs needs.

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Causes And Treatment Of Separation Anxiety In Dogs

Just like any other unhealthy behaviors of dogs like chewing, biting, barking etc. anxiety is treatable. Depending on the circumstance, anxiety can either be totally cured or it can be brought down to manageable levels. If you have a dog who suffers from anxiety, this is a must-read blog post for you.

Furthermore, if you were with your pup during this lock down and have to go back to work now, some of the tips mentioned here might help make the transition easier for your dog.

9 amazing strategies to treat separation anxiety in dogs

What Should I Do If I Come Home To A Mess

If your dog has been anxious during your departure, and this has led to destruction or house soiling, then anything you do may increase your dogâs anxiety, making matters worse for future departures and it will not correct what has already been done. Therefore both punishment and excited greetings must be avoided. At homecomings, ignore your dog until she settles down . Your dog should soon learn that the faster she settles, the sooner she will get your attention.

Important Information Before You Begin

The key to curing a dogs separation anxiety is patience. In their time as opposed to your expectations. If your dog is anxious in other situations too, learn how to help anxiety in dogs.

If you fast track and begin with leaving a room, even for seconds at the start, is a step too far and, youll set your dog up to fail.

Did you know, the more anxious you are about leaving your dog, the more worried they are when you leave! The more fuss you give your dog when you leave and return, the more likely your dog will show signs of separation anxiety.

Incorporate the method below into your daily lives. Ensuring your dog is calm between movements and exits is vital. Even if they are munching on a chew, they will clock youve left, so if this helps initially then thats fine. Chewing is a great stress reliever.

Avert eye contact This allows your dog to rest and relax. A look towards your dog as you move/walk away is you asking them to follow. Avert your eye contact = no conversation. No conversation = no reaction from your dog, eventually

Ensure your dog is calm Your dog needs to be settled and relaxed before you start, they also need to be relaxed between moves. Some dogs need extra help from you to calm down and take a nap.

Shut the door Make the room you are both in feel more safe and cosy.

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Why Do Dogs Have Separation Anxiety

It is not understood why some dogs suffer from separation anxiety. There could be an underlying medical condition. Or it could be triggered by an environmental change, like the addition of a new baby, a move to a new home, or the death of an owner or another pet. Other causes could be from a change in schedule , or because the dog is spending more time in the crate, kennel, or vet’s office.

The Spruce / Missy Schrott

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Examples Of Dog Separation Anxiety

Now that youve learned how to help your dog overcome separation anxiety check out this video to see how this pup has overcome his lonely and stressful situation.

The dog in this video was kenneled and left for about 2 1/2 minutes. This may not seem like a very long time. But it can seem like an eternity for dogs who suffer from severe separation anxiety. So its important to start training with a very brief period of unkenneled time. The transition time will vary for each pet, but try a detachment session of 5 seconds, see how your dog reacts, and then go from there.

Using A Safe Confinement Area

Its likely your new puppy has never been alone before. Its unfair to expect them to go from constant companionship to spending an entire eight-hour workday on their own. Start by teaching them to be alone while you are still in the house. A safe confinement area, like an exercise pen or crate, is perfect for this purpose. If you use a crate or exercise pen appropriately, they will see their confinement area as a place to relax rather than as punishment. Alternatively, you can limit your puppy to a small and safe area with baby gates.

To help your puppy associate this space with good things, feed them meals inside it. If the area is large enough, you can also spend some time playing in there together. To entice your puppy, set aside special toys they only get inside their crate or pen. When theyre happy to enter the confinement area on their own, youre ready to start alone-time training.

Where Do I Start

Before you can begin, be certain that your dog has a sufficiently enriched environment and a predictable daily routine . In addition, all rewards should be identified to ensure that they are only being given for those behaviors that you want to train and not for attention seeking or following. In other words, you should use the very rewards that your dog is seeking to teach independent behavior and to spend time relaxing away from you . Until you can get your dog to settle and relax while you are at home, he is unlikely to settle when you leave.

Recognize The Signs Of Dog Anxiety

Dogs use body language to communicate how they are feeling, says Ashley Atkinson, CPDT-KA and behavior consultant at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary.

For example, if your dog seems uneasy or is fixated on licking, they could be communicating nervousness, stress, or fear. There are many subtle signs of dog anxiety.

According to Dr. Susan Konecny, RN, DVM, medical director of Best Friends Animal Society, some clinical signs include:

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How To Cure Your Dog’s Separation Anxiety

Sept. 29, 2006 & #151 — What is separation anxiety?Separation anxiety happens when a dog becomes stressed each and every time he or she is left alone. Typically the dog paces, whines, chews or scratches door and window sills, makes housebreaking mistakes, barks and generally gets stressed out. It doesn’t matter if you’re gone for five minutes or five hours, your dog stresses the moment you leave.

What is not separation anxiety?

When a dog gets into things from time to time or does things he enjoys doing like unstuffing a couch or raiding the trash. These are often either rewarding behaviors he’s learned to do out of your sight or boredom-based behaviors. Incomplete housebreaking where your dog makes mistakes when you’re home and when you’re not. When problems don’t happen all the time and happen most when his schedule is changed in some way such as you come home then go out again, it is probably not true separation anxiety.

Structure:

Grounding Dogs with separation anxiety need your help, and the first thing to do is to start having your dog do things respond to commands for everything he gets — food, attention, treats, play and walks all happen after he listens and responds to a command such as sit. This will calm him and help reassure him that you are leading the team. For complete guidelines

Exercise:

For more information, visit thepetdocs.com.

Exercise Your Dog Before Departure

A tired dog is a calm dog. Exercising at least 30 minutes before departure will relax your dog and divert its attention to food and sleep.

Below is a useful video guide for the best workouts you and your dog can do together:

If you dont have time to go outside, watch this video for tips on how to exercise your dog inside the house:

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How Is Separation Anxiety Diagnosed In Children

Your childs healthcare provider may do a number of tests to diagnose a separation anxiety disorder. They may observe your child in a scene of separation.

Your childs healthcare provider will ask you about your childs history. They will ask you about your childs symptoms too. They will ask you how long your child has had his or her symptoms.

Generally, symptoms must be present for at least four weeks before a diagnosis will be made in children. Also, they must cause major impairment to normal functioning.

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Anxiety Supplements For Dogs

When are supplements used for dog anxiety?

Unlike prescription medications,anxiety supplements for dogs are sold over-the-counter and can be used on a regular basis. However, supplements are not as potent as medication. Anti-anxiety supplements contain natural herbs and extracts like CBD, passionflower, chamomile, L-theanine, and L-tryptophan.

What are the benefits of anxiety supplements for dogs?

Supports calmness and relaxation
Do not require a veterinary prescription

What are the risks of using anxiety supplements for dogs?

Finding the right dose may take time
Do not work for all dogs, and types of anxiety

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Remove The Triggers Which Cause Anxiety

If you notice your dogs anxiety stems in response to specific things like strangers or other dogs, try to eliminate the stressors for a while. For example if your dog is afraid of other dogs or other people, you can stop going to the dog park. You can take your dog for walks to places where there are less people or less dogs around.

Behavioral modifications towards strangers

You can also reset your dogs mind to associate new people with positive reinforcements. Ask your friend to come into your house and give your dog a treat every time he or she comes. Repeat this exercise on a regular basis. Eventually your dog will learn to associate new people with good treats.

Behavioral modifications towards being left alone

The standard for behavioral modification usually involves desensitization as well as counter conditioning. Such methods can be tricky to carry out . These methods require the help of a trained and experienced professional. To know more about the behavioral modifications to with being left alone watch out for my next blog post.

Dog appeasing pheromones

These are synthetic pheromones. These are similar to pheromones which are produced by female dogs when they are nursing puppies. These can work amazingly well reducing the anxiety of your dog. These are available in different forms like callers, diffusers and sprays.

Alternative therapies

Medications

Always consult your vet before starting your dog on any kind of alternative therapy.

Leaving Your Dog To Crying It Out Means Suffering In Silence

Some dog training guides may suggest letting a dog cry it out. This technique, whilst practised widely, is neurologically damaging. Heres why:

Dogs and puppies left to cry it out will only learn that being alone is terrifying.
Every time your dog becomes highly distressed, stress hormones occur in the body which can take days to reduce. This can cause negative, long-term effects on your dogs body and mental state.
Some will sadly learn that calling for their owner to come back doesnt work, so they learn to suffer in silence.

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